PoP: The Forgotten Sands Review

Even though you'll gain lots of attacks, you'll end up simply thrusting the Nunchuck and waving the Wii Remote until enemies die. Enemies are also extremely dumb, often refusing to move until you approach them. This can lead to situations where they're clearly stood in the path of traps, refusing to move and then wiped off the face of the game world as a spinning blade cuts them to pieces.

It's always hard to tell just how good Wii games look, but Forgotten Sands is definitely one of the prettier titles I've played on Nintendo's console. The game world is large, enemies are nicely modelled and the lighting is excellent - even if it has that heavy bloom look that was all the rage during the PS2 era. The camera can get a bid lost at times, but for the most part it does its job, giving you the best view of the action.

Audio work is more mixed, with an excellent score being accompanied by some rather out of place voice work for the Prince and his genie companion. The addition of a narrator is a nice touch, but the voices just seem slightly off, which isn't helped by the Prince's odd facial expressions and bizarre, scary eyes.

The sheer number of unlockables and nods to the series' history round off a really impressive package. As well as a number of areas in the main game that are played on a 2D plain just as the original Prince of Persia was, the classic 16-bit version of the game can be unlocked, there are numerous secret costumes and challenge modes. In all it's a lot better than the meagre set of bonus content included in the Xbox 360 and PS3 game.

It really isn't often that a Wii version of a multi-platform title comes out on top, but that's exactly what's happened with The Forgotten Sands. While the Wii game still has its fair share of problems, it's one of the best action adventure titles the console has seen. Get over the waggle-heavy combat and you've got a thoroughly enjoyable romp through an often gorgeous game world, complete with some really clever gameplay mechanics.